STATE FORESTRY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18184, 22 September 1924, Page 10

STATE FORESTRY.

TREE-PLANTING AT HANMER.

THE GROWTH OF THE WORK. A considerable number of men have been empioved by the ice since the beginning cf the past winter, fencing, preparing the ground, and now planting. An area of *SO acres at Hanmer Springs will be completed by the second week in October, and 600' to 700 acres at the Balmoral plantation by.the end of this month. The species being planted are pinus pondcrosa (the heavy or bull pino or North America), banksiana (the jack pine of Canada), Larieio (the Corsican pine), pinus radiata, and pinus murieata for marginal, or shelter, planting. The season throughout has been exceedingly favourable for all branches or operations. A new method of planting has been'adopted for the past two seasons, resulting in increased efficiency and a substantial reduction in the cost, of establishment, on all classes of country operated upon. A good deal of trouble is being experienced in dealing with the rabbit pest, and before any plantings can be done an area has to be absolutely clear of them. Constant vigilance is necessary to keep the pest in check, as even a very small number of rabbits can do an enormous amount of damage to newly-lined trees. As soon as the planting of these areas is completed, Iresh areas up to 1000 acres at each place, Hanmer and Balmoral, will be put in hand for the 1924-1925 season. The work of preparation will consist of fencing and enclosing with rabbit-proof netting, clearing. of scrub, roading, and the destruction of rabbits in the enclosed area. The areas already established are making verv fine headway, and the ■whole plantation presents an appearance of healthy and vigorous growth, the absence of disease being a noticeable feature. The area under trees approximates 5000 acres at Hanmer and 3000 acres at Balmoral. The areas first planted now contain Some very .fine stands of timber, including European larch, Corsican pine, insignus, ponderosa, and banksiana, and in the course of a comparatively few years they, will be approaching the milling stage, and should eventually prove a profitable branch of State enterprise.

Thinning operations have been commenced in the more forward. areas under larch. Blocks are let on the royalty basis, the lessee doing tho necessary thinning and paying a small royalty to the Service. The product is of a high. quality, and is being disposed of, in turn, for various purposes. The better cuts are suitable for telephone poles and fencing posts, and should prove to be possessed of considerable durability in contact with the ground. The lighter cuts are adapted for stockyard rails, droppers, and even tomato poles, the lessee disposing of 1000 in Christcliurch for this purpose. It is also adaptable for trellis*: and rustic work of an. ornamental nature. These lighter cuts should. be equal to native timbers used for similar purposes, and prove very much cheaper. An interesting phase of the operations at Hanmer Springs is. the growing of trees in the .State nursery, where at the present timo some six million trees, in various stages of growth, may be seen. All the trees planted at both Hanmer and Balmoral have- been produced in this nursery, the output from which increases annually, and has already exceeded one million trees this season. A feature of the Department's policy is to supply farmers, local bodies, etc.,' with trees, and this is being availed of to a greater extent each year, showing that the value of tree-planting is becoming more generally recognised. Operations in hand are the transfer of seedlings to the nursery lines for next season's planting, and the sowing of some hundreds of pounds of tree seeds of various species. Interesting experiments are being made in the way of weed eradication in seed-beds to reduce the cost of tho work. The use of a flame projector is being tried out as a soil steriliser and as another method of weed destruction. Durability tests are being made. with .various species of timbers for use as fencing posts, a proportion being treated with creosote, for purposes of comparison, in order to ascertain the effect of this treatment in regard to durability. This test will be watched with interest, and should be productive of both valuable and useful data. Part of the activities of tho Service is the collection of its own tree seeds, which is being carried out on an annually increasing scale with satisfactory results. The local station has recently been brought up-to-date by the acquisition of a motor-lorry and a tractor which, it is expected will tend to greater efficiency and increasing economy.